Starring into the Abyss
by DarkRosaleen
Summary: Kurt is on vacation in Germany when he comes across a girl who's powers are disturbingly powerful.But she has so many scars that need to heal. Can Kurt help her? CH2UP!!!!!
1. First meetings

It was cold in this time of year in Germany. Snow lying in long white sheets along the mountains. Sitting on one of the many white slopes was a bright blot of blue covered in a long black coat. Eyes closed savoring the feel of the mountains, for him seeing was the least important part of life, feeling reinged supreme. Kurt breathed in the clean winter air. He had missed it, even if it was only a little. He murrmered a small prayer before he opened his yellow eyes. The sky was darkening and seeing the warm blinking lights of a small village he thought about getting to those windows, there was an odd sound of air whooshing and the next moment the white slopes were empty only a faint blue smoke telling where anyone had been and that was blown away with the next gust of wind.  
  
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"To fucking cold." The girl wrapped in a tattered black jacket muttered to herself. "God damn Germany!" the girl was cold, her legs hurt with the cold and too much walking and she was tired. Not physically tired (she was that too) but emotionally tired. She kept thinking about why she was here, wandering around the wilds of Germany all by herself. It didn't seem possible. She was tired from all the doubt, all the pain, all the anger and all the willingness to hate. Her eyes were dark from exhaustion and sunk into her head from not enough food.  
She felt the warmth of the small village she had been walking towards. And more importantly she could smell the food. Her stomach reacted so violently to the smell that she staggered and nearly lost her feet. "Almost there." She said to her body, trying to coax it a little farther along. She thought she heard something then, the sound of air being sucked into a small area. She then caught sight of a man dressed in a long black coat walking into the town ahead of her, "He wasn't there a moment ago." But she just shook her head and kept walking, all she could think about right now was getting something to eat.  
  
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"What do you mean you won't take American money?" the girl was yelling at the shop keeper in horrible German. "It's all I have!"  
She had been making quite a scene Kurt thought to himself. He looked at her, she was small only about 5'1 or so she was thin, painfully thin from obvious lack of neuroshment. Her long black hair was tied in a loose ponytail and was laced with shockingly blue highlights. She starred around the room and Kurt saw that she was wearing dark sunglasses. "Sunglasses? At night, in the middle of winter?" Kurt looked more closely at her appearance. Her clothes were tattered and looked liked she'd been wearing them for weeks. Her hands were blue from cold and clutched a worn backpack her only possession.  
Kurt, making sure that his face was covered walked up to the store owner and speaking very rapidly in German gave the man a few coins and went back and sat down. The girl was starring at him now, as if she could see through the shadows that hid his face. He turned away from her and waved a gloved hair to tell her to pick what she wanted. The girl's eyes brightened and she pointed at several things the owner looked disapprovingly at her but he put everything she wanted in a brown bag. The girl scampered out of the store. Looking his way and smiling. Kurt smiled back. He liked it when people smiled at him.  
  
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Kurt had finished his dinner and was just walking out of the store when he heard a small commotion in an alley between two of the buildings. He looked around to see a group of boys beating the girl he had helped earlier. She was on all fours yelling at them in her horrible German to "Stop please! Please!" Her glasses had fallen away at some point and Kurt could see her eyes now, they were black, totally black like black ink had been spilled into them. The boys were yelling at her, "Freak! Mutant! Monster!" Kurt had just decided to run at the boys when the girl screamed and then the shadows in the alley began to move. Not waver like they would have in a light but move. It was like they had become tangible forces and were melting themselves around the girl. The boys were now afraid, starring around them at the moving black. It looked like the stuff nightmares were made of. The girl looked those black eyes at them and the shadows flew out from her smashing the boys into the brick walls on either side of her. She pulled the shadows into her hands and creating what looked like clubs knocked another boy clear of the alley.  
Then she saw Kurt, and he knew with those eyes no shadow could hide his true appearance. She took a step forward, the shadows following her like magnet to metal. She stood in front of him and standing on tip-toes pushed the hood away from his face. The shadows slid back into their normal places. And Kurt stared at her, and she at him. She touched his face lightly and said, "pretty." Her German had gotten worse. Kurt looked and saw blood seeping out of a cut above her eye, it was bleeding black and touching her arm she whinced and said in English, "It hurts." And then fell unconscious into his arms.  
  
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It was warm where she woke up. She hadn't been warm in so long. She reveld in the feeling for a moment before she realized that their were arms around her, holding her. She tried to sit up but the arms were there. She paniced, trying to twist out of the arms. When she heard a voice in English, but with a heavy German accent say, "Don't vorry I got you."  
The arms relaxed a little and she sat up, grimmicing in pain, was felt like one huge bruise and probably looked like one too. Looking at the man who was holding her remembered the night before. "Thanks for helping me." She said. "But whats with the cuddling?"  
"Cuddling?" Kurt asked confused he opened his tree fingered hands and said, "You vere unconsiouse vhen I brought you beck here. I called some friends of mine and shey vill be here soon." He paused for a moment, "But I thought dat if people came looking for you I could get us both avay easier."  
"How do you mean?" She was confused. Kurt smiled showing pointed teeth and there was a bust of blue smoke and a whooshing sound and he was across the room from her. The girl sat up with wide black eyes and said, "How did you do that?"  
"How do you play vith shadows?" Kurt asked back.  
She smiled and said, "It's my mutation. I control shadows and living darkness."  
"Vhat's your name?" Kurt asked.  
"Gloom." She said.  
"No, no. Your real name." Kurt said he walked back over to her and said, "I'm Kurt Wagner. But in the Munich circles I vas known as zee amazing Nightcrawler."  
She smiled and said, "Seraphina Black." She stuck out her hand and after thinking for a moment Kurt took it and said, "Good to meet you Seraphina." Their was a beeping coming from the inside of Kurt's jacket. "What is that?" She asked. He pulled out a little metal thing that looked like a cell phone and Seraphina could hear voices coming out, "Cut your vacation a little short didn't ya Kurt?" asked a gruff male voice. "Dere is a girl that needs some help." Another voice came on this one younger with a southern drawl, "Well aren't you just a knight in shining armor?" Kurt smiled at Seraphina embarrassedly. Seraphina smiled back.  
"Well we're about to land about a mile northeast of the town. Can ya meet us there in a couple of minutes?"  
"Of course." He closed the distance between them and said, "We'll have to hurry." She found her bag and said, "Let's do it." Kurt wrapped his arms around her and with the whooshing sound and a small puff of blue smoke they were outside the town. And in just a few more pooffs later they were standing in a large field and Seraphina was looking at the weirdest looking jet she had ever seen. 


	2. Waking up

CHAPTER 2  
  
The jet was enormous. It's deep blue color shimmered in the snowy moonlight.  
  
She realized with a flush of embarrassment that she was still clutching Kurt, she let go of  
  
him and watched as three people made there way over to them. A tall, harry, gruff man, a  
  
boy with incredible blue eyes and a girl with strange white streaks in her hair.  
  
The gruff man looked at Seraphina, smiled quickly and turning to Kurt said, "Are  
  
you coming back with her or are you going to stay a little while longer?"  
  
Kurt saw Seraphina's eyes go wide with the thought of being left alone with a  
  
bunch of people she didn't know. And ignoring the question said, "Seraphina, this is  
  
Logan also called Volverine." She looked back at the man and nodded slightly in  
  
acknowledgement. Kurt turned back and said to Wolverine, "I dink dat I vill go beck vith  
  
her."  
  
"Wait. Where am I going?" She asked very confused.  
  
Both Kurt and Logan looked at her, and then each other and Kurt said, "To a safe  
  
place for people like us."  
  
"No such thing." She said back, "And why would I want to go there?"  
  
"Aren't you tired of being hungry?" asked Kurt quietly, he leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, "Vhen you vere asleep you started screaming in you dreams. I had  
  
to hold you tight so you didn't hurt yourself. I could feel your bones sticking out of you.  
  
Aren't you tired of the nightmares?"  
  
"I am the nightmare." She whispered back.  
  
Kurt smiled and said, "No, if this is just a dream I vouldn't vant to vake up."  
  
Seraphina felt her heart skip a little when she realized he wouldn't leave her  
  
alone. She hated being left alone, it had happened once too often in her life. She nodded  
  
at him. As they had been talking the other two people, who were actually about her age  
  
she thought, 18 maybe 19 had come up to her and the girl introduced them, "Hi. I'm  
  
Rogue and this is Bobby."  
  
"Iceman." He smiled at Seraphina.  
  
"Gloom." She answered back  
  
Wolverine was saying something about storm being on the plane and the next  
  
thing she knew they were showing her how to strap herself in. Kurt sat next to her and  
  
when Seraphina's eyes went wide at the sound of the engines he touched her hand lightly  
  
and said, "It's alright, it just takes some getting used to."  
  
The flight didn't take long, not long at all, but as the sun began to rise she said  
  
voice a little frantic, "Do you have a place out of the sun?"  
  
The beautiful woman named Storm looked back at her and smiling said, "Yes, go  
  
a little farther into the hold and you should be out of any sunlight." She looked like she  
  
might turn away when she asked, "Can I ask why?"  
  
"I don't do well in sunlight." She paused, "It makes me tired and if I'm in it too  
  
long it begins to hurt."  
  
Storm nodded at her and Seraphina watched the woman's eyes go white, a  
  
moment later the sun rise was masked by clouds.  
  
"Did you do that?" Seraphina asked amazed.  
  
"Yes." Storm replied, turning back to the controls.  
  
Bobby and Rogue had been listening to the conversation, holding hands through  
  
the black uniforms they wore. They were looking at her and it was becoming  
  
uncomfortable when Rogue said, "What's with the sunglasses?"  
  
Seraphina touched her face, forgetting that she had stuck them on before Kurt and  
  
she had left the hotel room. She thought of some lies she could tell, 'sunlight hurts my  
  
eyes' (that wasn't a lie). 'I'm high! Do you mind?' (That wouldn't go over too well.) She  
  
finally opted for honesty, sliding the sunglasses off her nose she looked at Rogue and  
  
Iceman with her deep black voids, "This is why."  
  
Rogue and Bobby gasped then Rogue said, "Cool."  
  
"What?" Seraphina asked.  
  
"Well that looks cool. All I got is some white highlights and I don't really like  
  
how I got those anyhow."  
  
She thought she heard Wolverine laugh from where he was co-piloting the plane.  
  
Rogue asked another question, "What's your gift?"  
  
"I, um.I can create and control shadows and darkness."  
  
"Wicked." Bobby and Rouge said. Seraphina winced at the name, she had been  
  
called that before, but it had been an insult, not a compliment. "How odd." she thought.  
  
"Bobby freezes stuff and I," Rogue paused for a moment and Seraphina could see  
  
the pain on her face, "I take energy by touching people."  
  
Seraphina understood the pain she saw in those eyes. She knew what it felt like to  
  
be that alone in the world. She gave Rogue a smile and said, "At least you have such  
  
wonderful friends to take care of you. That's more than I've had in a while." She knew  
  
she looked pained as she said it but it was the truth. And the truth was always more  
  
painful.  
  
As the plane fell silent and everyone was doing there own things, Seraphina  
  
unfastened herself and walked toward the back of the plane, she needed to be alone. She  
  
had only been sitting in the dark for a couple of minutes when she heard Kurt's voice say,  
  
"Seraphim? Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine. But its Seraphina remember?" as she had spoken Kurt stepped around  
  
the door and found her.  
  
He knelt down, making it look oddly graceful and said, "No. You are Seraphim, it  
  
is the name given to the highest choir of angels."  
  
"I'm no angel. I think I prefer gloom better." She smiled unhappily. She scooted  
  
over so Kurt could sit next to her and looking at him fully for the first time she marveled  
  
at the beauty of his scars, she lifted her hand as though she would have touched him, but  
  
she dropped her hand just short of his face and asked, "What do they mean?"  
  
"They are the angelic alphabet, the language of God."  
  
"What is it with you and angels?"  
  
"I am fascinated by them, and the people that they use in everyday life."  
  
She smiled and said, "Is that what you are? My angel?"  
  
His bright yellow eyes were starring into her abyss's, "If that's vhat you need."  
  
"I think it is." She whispered.  
  
She sank down, resting her head on Kurt's shoulder and closed her eyes. Maybe  
  
she wouldn't have any nightmares if an angel was nearby. Maybe. Then Seraphina was  
  
asleep. 


	3. A new home

Chapter 3  
  
When they had landed the sun had been up in the sky and Seraphina was taken to a room quickly and quietly. She had her sunglasses on and tried to ignore all the children that she knew were starring at her. Kurt and Storm took Seraphina to a room. After looking around it for a moment she turned to them and Storm said, "This room will be yours for as long as you like." Seraphina nodded absently and Storm continued, "We put you in the teachers wing away from the students. It's quieter around here and we thought you would like it better. Until you feel more comfortable around the students."  
"Thank you." She said. "I haven't slept in an actual bed for a really long time." She winced and said, "But right now I really think I need to sleep."  
"I'll get you some better clothes." Ororo said, "And I'll have Kurt come and get you when you feel better."  
"What for?"  
"To meet tha professor." Kurt replied. The two older mutants both saw a flash of fear in her eyes and Kurt spoke up again, "He runs this place for mutants, vith no vhere to go." He smiled gently "He is a very good man."  
Seraphina nodded again and with that Kurt and Ororo left the room. Seraphina looked around and closed all the curtains tight and fell onto the bed and was asleep again in a matter of moments.  
  
Seraphina was running through the snow. The cold bit into her bare feet. But she had to keep running, if she stopped they would catch her. She looked over she shoulder but all she could see were thick black shapes blocking her view. But the shapes began to take form, turning into huge black monsters with red glowing eyes. "NO!" she screamed, redoubling her speed. She could see woods in front of her. If she could just get to the woods then she could hide. But she tripped and fell, sprawling in the cold snow. The monsters began to laugh behind her. And she knew that they had caught her and that she was never going to get out of their evil blackness. The monsters melted into puddles, covering her. And as she fought to get them off her she screamed, over and over again.  
  
Seraphina woke up, the sound of her screams woke her up, she was sweating. Looking around she realized that it was late and she was hungry. She stretched and finding a pair of black jeans and a black turtleneck she put them on and walked down stairs into the quite mansion. When she heard the sound of people coming down the hallway she realized that she had left her sunglasses in her room. She looked around frantically and pressing herself against a wall melted into the shadows on it. She watched as a group of teenagers walked past her smiling and laughing. Seraphina continued down through the mansion, sliding and jumping through the shadows until she reached the kitchen. Pulling herself out of a large shadow on the wall she walked into the large kitchen.  
"That must be a handy trick. I didn't even smell you until you did that." A gruff, but not totally unpleasant voice said from behind her. Seraphina spun around so quickly she was dizzy. When the world stopped moving she could see that it was Logan and he was smiling, she guessed it was a smile, at her and going over to the fridge he opened it and said, "This place really needs a supply of beer. If I have to drink another goddamn Dr Pepper I'm going to puke."  
She smiled at that, "Well what would a shadow smell like?" Sliding closer to him so she could look into the huge fridge said, "Do they have anything that I can eat in there?" Logan thrust a sandwich into her hand and a bottle of water into the other. "Thanks." She said fumbling with her now full hands.  
Logan chuckled and grabbing another bottled water, helped guide her to the table. She flintched when he touched her and he said, "I'm not going to hurt you."  
"I know." She replied, "It's just that I don't like to be touched very much."  
"I know how you feel." He said to her.  
She didn't look at his face. She didn't want him to have to see her eyes. She just nodded, sat down and began to devour her sandwich.  
"God girl you're doing that like you haven't eaten in days."  
"Up until yeasterday." Seraphina said with a full mouth, "I hadn't."  
"Oh." Logan said a little embarrassedly. He thought for a moment before asking another question. "You sound completely American. What were you doing wandering around Germany with no ID or passport?"  
"Uh," Seraphina said between bites. "I was on a vacation with my parents and they sort of left me there."  
"What?" Logan said in amazment.  
"Well you see my..." she thought of the word carefully before continuing, "my 'condition' developed about a year ago. I tried to continue with my life but when my eyes changed they took me out of school, they acted different toward me but they seemed to want to help me. They told me that maybe a trip abroad would be nice and get my mind off of things. So we went to Germany and it was really good for the first month. We all went sightseeing and traveled around it was good. But then one day up in the mountains they brought me to a 'hospital' that my parents had wanted to put me in the whole time." Her voice cracked as she continued, "They told me that they had already told everyone that I was getting help for my 'problem' but that they never wanted me to come back. They took my passport and ID and left me with those doctors. What they did I don't want to talk about right now. But I was there for nearly half a year before I escaped." She turned her back to Logan and said, "Look."  
Logan pulled down the neck of her shirt and saw tattooed into the back of her neck a number. Logan sucked in his breath as anger bubbled up inside of him. How could anyone do this to a teenager? What kind of parents would leave their daughter with butchers like those doctors? Seraphina turned her ink black eyes to look at Logan and he said sadly, "I'm sorry, I know how it feels to be experimented on like some sick sort of lab rat. But this is a good place. We've recently had some heart brakes of our own. But we would all do whatever we could to help you."  
"Thanks, that means a lot." She smiled at him. She sat in silence for a moment before she asked, "What kind of heartbreaks?"  
Logan looked up at her and he said, "A great woman died about six months ago. She was one of The Professor's first students. Her name was Jean Grey."  
"I'm sorry." She offered. She could see the pain that flashed over his face. But it was only there for a split second before his gruff exterior was back he looked at the clock and said, "It's pretty late. I think you should get some sleep. You'll be meeting a lot of people tomorrow."  
"How many people?" She asked.  
Logan chuckeled and said, "Don't worry about it kid. Try to get some more sleep."  
She stood up and walked toward the door, opening it she turned and said, "Thanks Wolverine."  
"Call me Logan."  
She smiled and said, "Thanks Logan."  
He gave her a small smile, "Goodnight kid."  
"Night." And with that she walked out of the kitchen and back into the dark hallway.  
  
Seraphina had been wandering around the mansion for over an hour now. She didn't want to sleep. Everytime she tried to sleep the nightmares were back. Not to mention she was more of a night person anyway. So she'd just been sliding around, from shadow to shadow, avoiding people. She had poked her head into one of the TV rooms to see a little boy flipping channels with his eyes. "Odd." She thought to herself and continued on her way.  
This place was huge and very pretty, in an old, creepy sort of way. She was heading back to her room, about ready to try and sleep again when she saw a dark shape standing in front of her down the dark hallway. "No." she whispered in terror. She turned and started to run back the way she had come. She heard a whooshing sound and she ran right into the dark shape she screamed, "No! Let me go!" She struggled and then she heard a familiar voice.  
"It's me. Seraphim."  
"Oh Kurt!" Seraphina burst into tears clutching at Kurt's shirt.  
"Hush child, you are safe here." Kurt's arms came up hesatently around the delicate body crushed up against him.  
"I thought you were... I thought you were."  
"I scared you?" Kurt said not being able to hide the pain in his voice.  
Seraphina stepped back saying, "Oh no I didn't mean it like that. No, no I'm sorry. It's just my dreams were scaring me so I was a little frazzled to begin with."  
Kurt looked down at the girl and said, "I don't sleep at night very much either. Come, let me tek you beck to your room. Everything vill be alright." Seraphina could only nod as Kurt put his arm around her and walked her back to her room. Kurt paused in front of it and said, "Good night Seraphim."  
Seraphina's hand shot out and she said a little frantically, "Don't leave me alone. I don't want to sleep my nightmares are too much. Just stay and talk to me."  
Kurt spoke surprised, "You want me to stay and talk vith you?"  
"Yes please."  
"Alright."  
  
They had been talking for a good few hours now. They sat next to each other on Seraphina's bed talking. Both had told each other their stories and Kurt had actually cried when she had shown him her tattoo. "I guess ve both have our past's forever scared into our skin." He said.  
"I guess." Seraphina said back.  
It was silent for a long moment before Kurt finally asked, "Vhat our your dreams about Seraphim, dat dey vould make sleeping so hard for you?"  
Seraphina closed her ink black eyes and said, "Sometimes it's memories of the others that were there at the hospital with me. The one's I couldn't help. I see their faces asking me to come back. But when I look again their only corpses talking to me. But there are also my really bad nightmares..." Seraphina shivered uncontrollably and Kurt tossed a blanket over her shoulders and Seraphina continued in a low whisper, "Sometimes I think that I am evil. I can see what hides in the darkness and it knows that I can see it. But their only shapes, black voids of nothingness coming to cover me and drag me into their void." She let out a loud sob.  
Kurt put his arms around her and said, "It is not the darkness that mecks us evil but vhat ve do it that darkness."  
"You probably think that I'm a real cry baby." She said between bouts of tears.  
"Never." Kurt responded stroking her black hair lovingly.  
Kurt laid her down on the bed but as he got up she touched his arm and said, "Please don't go. I don't want to wake up. The last time you held me I was okay."  
"I don't know if dat vould be proper." Kurt said.  
"Please, just for a little while then."  
Kurt nodded and laid down next, making sure his tail was out of the way, to Seraphina winding his arms around her and pulling her to him. Seraphina let out a sigh of relief as she felt Kurt's arms. She wrapper her hands around his three fingered hands and felt better. 


End file.
